Adrien Robinson sees depth-chart placement as “motivational thing”

Posted by Mike Florio on August 10, 2014, 3:29 PM EST

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With two of five preseason games in the books, the Giants still don’t have a clear answer at tight end. The man who currently sits at the bottom of the depth chart predicts he’ll eventually make a move.

Adrien Robinson, a fourth-round pick in 2012, thinks he was put in the fourth-string group of “other” tight ends as a way to get his attention.

“I wasn’t upset,” Robinson said after Saturday night’s game, via Connor Orr of NJ.com. “I tried to see it as a motivational thing, like I need to keep working. I wasn’t upset at all because it was so early in camp and by the time we get to the end I won’t be there.”

Larry Donnell remains the starter through the first two weeks of the Giants’ preseason, with Daniel Fells, Xavier Grimble, Kellen Davis, and Jerome Cunningham all vying for jobs and, ultimately, reps.

Against the Steelers, Donnell caught two passes for 13 yards. Robinson caught one for nine, playing exclusively in the second half.

There’s still plenty of time for someone to emerge. But also plenty of time for the Giants to make other plans at a position that lacks obvious talent or experience.

It’s his third season and he didn’t do anything in his first two. Being buried on one of the worst TE rosters in the league isn’t a motivational thing, it’s an indication the team is just about to give up on him.